The part of the land bridge and its surrounds, which covers Sump, is having the ‘big’ central barista competition this weekend in Kansas City. This causes two simultaneous thoughts within me.
The first, regret. I’m not very good with paper work. I mean I can do it, it’s not an aptitude issues it just makes me itchy. I’m reminded of De Niro in the movie Brazil or Office Space. I’m not a fan of TPS’s or 27-stroke-zed forms. So the regret is that I’m not sufficiently inclined to do things in a timely manner, of which, cost ‘handsome’ Matt a run with the bulls in this year comp.
The second, it’s more of that awkward feeling you get when you hear your own recorded voice. I always think -there is no way I sound like that. I’m much cooler, an octave deeper, smoother. But the truth is I do sound like that and you do too, unless you’re Morgan Freeman or the guy who does voice overs for movie trailers. So the ‘big’ central comes to ‘town’ and the press machines go into high gear -covering everything from the shops competing to the event to the state of speciality coffee. I start to feel annoyed by everything I read. I start to become annoyed by what is essentially my own voice in and about coffee. I start to realize I sound like I’ve been adjudicating what’s right and what’s wrong. I think I would just like to footnote what has come before -in these posts, on this blog by saying there is no right or wrong way to enjoy coffee. Again, as long as no one, no place or thing is being exploited or hurt. What I do is a style, my style -which I very much hope you enjoy. It’s like wearing a bow tie or having a favorite Dr. Who out of the 11 or so that have existed or preferring that Han Solo shot first (because he did). Coffee is a ‘hug’. Everyone (me) is elevating coffee, comparing it to wine or something else. And in reality it has to be so that producers and growers can earn a living (fair) wage/compensation (no one decries the state of poor grape (wine) growers (workers yes, but growers no) and the overall quality can improve and for those that make your cup to also earn something close to a living wage. So instead of wine, I’m going to think of coffee as a hug. No one elevates a hug into layers of pretension. We all just need a good one now and again. That’s what I hope to provide, but in a cup -(so don’t try and hug me).
This also reminds me -new idea for a monthly meet up at Sump. A coffee show and tell. So instead of Sump telling or showing, I would like to invite people to drop by the shop once a month and talk about what and how you brew. So for example, someone came by the other day and asked about hand grinders. I honestly have no idea. I mean at a 10,000 feet level I do, but at a micro day to day level -nada. So lets say the first meet-up is the last Wednesday evening of each month -say 6:30 (thus, first meet-up Jan 30th at 6:30) and you, the hand grinding public, come and show us what you use and how you use it. No competition, no attendance cap, no entry fee -just your bad self. I’ll supply the coffee.